Author: Press Room
Chocolate maker Cadbury no longer has Royal approval after it was stripped from King Charles’ list of warrants. The chocolatier was first given Royal endorsement in 1854 by Queen Victoria and was reportedly a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II until her death in 2022, the UK’s Guardian reported. But it was among 100 brands and products to have their warrants withdrawn under King Charles, with the latest list being published by Buckingham Palace’s Royal Warrant Holders Association. It is the second list announced by the king since he ascended to the throne. The only two named chocolatiers are Bendicks and Prestat, while…
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his family have embraced the festive season by again donning matching pyjamas for their annual Christmas photo tradition.Luxon shared the coordinated snapshot on social media last night, which included wife Amanda and adult children Olivia, 23, and William, 25.”Christmas pyjamas and Christmas movies. Keeping our tradition going. “Happy Christmas everyone,” Luxon wrote.The PM’s family has continued their tradition from previous Christmases.The bit also included a viewing of the 2003 film Love Actually.”The night of the 23rd of December is always a compulsory family viewing of Love Actually in our house. This year Amanda added a…
After a heart-wrenching 42 hours fearing her teenage daughter was dead, Amy Walsh received the best Christmas present of all: “I have my girl”.19-year-old Maia Johnston left Walsh’s Upper Hutt home on Saturday night, and was found on Monday afternoon in the bushy hills surrounding Totara Park where she had fallen down a waterfall, breaking her leg, multiple ribs, and suffering facial injuries.”Got lost in mountains and fell down [an] almost two-storey waterfall, couldn’t walk my way out and I’ll be in hospital for a while,” she posted on social media yesterday morning.The search for the missing teen began on…
While the EU saw a drop in toy exports, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion. ADVERTISEMENTIn 2023, the EU imported €6.5 billion worth of toys from countries outside the bloc, a €2 billion decrease compared to 2022. According to the latest Eurostat figures, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion. Vietnam followed with 6% and the United Kingdom with 2%. Around a fifth of the EU’s toy imports ended up in Germany, while France and the Netherlands received 16% and 14%, respectively. At the same time, the…
Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be The Odyssey, adapting Homer’s epic poem, which follows Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan war.The 54-year-old filmmaker was known to be working on a mystery project with the likes of Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong’o for a 2026 release.Universal have confirmed he is working on The Odyssey, which the studio says will be a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology.”The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in…
For Anne, the psychological blow of having been caught up in an investment scam is proving harder to deal with than the at least-$80,000 she has lost.”I feel so stupid,” she says.The 67-year-old, whom RNZ has agreed not to identify because not even her husband knows the full extent of her losses, fell into the scam last year.She was talking to friends about being interested in investing in shares and a man told her he had got into trading, and recommended a company that could help.”I went online, they had a website, all the legal terms and conditions, it looked…
Two pou whenua have been vandalised along the Abel Tasman Coast Track since Saturday — one defaced with a hammer and another covered with paint.The Department of Conservation (DOC) said two separate pou whenua were vandalised, one at Medlands Beach and another further along at Marahau. Pou whenua are carved posts that are used to mark out boundaries or places of significance to Māori. The vandalism of the first pou whenua was reported on Saturday while the second was reported this morning.DOC acting operations director Phil Crawford said it was “hard to believe” someone would vandalise cultural pieces along a…
The role, which holds significant powers in areas such as foreign policy and national security, is limited by Moldovan law to two consecutive four-year terms. ADVERTISEMENTMaia Sandu was sworn in for her second term as President of the Republic of Moldova in a formal joint session of the parliament and Constitutional Court in the capital Chișinău on Tuesday.After taking the oath, Sandu expressed her gratitude to the people for their trust as she accepted the new mandate “with humility and determination”.Reflecting on her first term, she acknowledged the multiple crises faced but emphasised “the determination and courage of Moldovans to…
One person has died after a vehicle crashed into a house in New Plymouth this morning.Police received a report of a vehicle colliding with a house on Riversdale Dr, Merrilands, at around 9.15am.”Sadly, the single occupant of the vehicle died at the scene,” a spokesperson said.St John responded with three ambulances, a rapid response vehicle and an operations manager.”One person has been taken to Taranaki Base Hospital in a moderate condition.” Police confirmed this person was an occupant of the address.”The road is closed while the serious crash unit examines the scene.”Motorists are advised to take an alternate route and…
Ukraine’s resistance, bolstered by US support, weakens Russia’s military, contributing to the fall of the al-Assad regime, Zelenskyy’s advisor argues. ADVERTISEMENTJust weeks ago, Syrian rebels succeeded in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad’s regime, putting an end to a 13-year-long war. The long-standing ruler of Syria fled to Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin granted him asylum, marking a clear sign of Russia’s diminishing influence in the region. The offensive was, among others, initiated by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Its leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who was once the head of an al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria, now…